Tofu in a soy-honey sauce

After days of rapprochement and over-thinking, I have decided to not think at all. All my decisions are going to be spontaneous from now on.

Like this tofu this I made yesterday. It was just lying in the fridge awaiting its judgement – miso soup or scrambled tofu sandwich were my confusions.

In the end, I just went with the flow and made something that is super simple, if you have the ingredients, and a delicious accompaniment to your bowl of steamed rice at lunch.

Prep time: 10 mins | Cooking time: 15 mins | Serves 2-3 people

Ingredients:

Tofu – 200 grams, cut into cubes

Cornflour – 1 tablespoon

Groundnut oil for shallow frying (or any other odourless oil)

Salt and pepper to taste

Onion – 1 medium, sliced into thin strips

Red bell pepper – 1 medium, julienned into thin strips

Green chillies – 2, roughly chopped

Garlic – three cloves, finely chopped

Ginger – 1-inch piece, grated

Dark soy sauce – 2 tablespoons

Rice wine vinegar – 1 and a half tablespoon

Gochujang or fermented chilli paste – 1 teaspoon

Honey – 2 tablespoons

Water – 100 ml or just more than a quarter cup

Method:

Cut the tofu into equal cubes and rinse under some warm water.

In a wide non-stick pan, add some oil for frying and bring up to temperature. Coat the tofu cubes with the cornflour and slowly add to the pan.

Fry on all sides till it is nicely crisp and golden. Drain from the oil and set them over a kitchen towel or paper napkins.

Chuck all but two tablespoons of oil from the frying pan. Now add the onions, garlic and ginger and fry till they are slightly brown. Add the pepper and chillies and fry for a bit more.

Once the vegetables have softened, add the gochujang paste and fry for not more than 30 seconds. Reduce the heat and deglaze the pan with the soy sauce, rice vinegar and water.

After the liquids begin to shimmer, add the honey and stir till there are no lumps and the sauce is a little thick. Taste to see if some more salt or honey is needed. The primary taste should be sour with a nice undertone of the honey after you swallow.

Turn the heat off once you have reached the desired consistency. Add the fried tofu to the pan and coat well.

Serve immediately with some steamed rice. If left in the pan, the tofu will turn soggy and lose its crispness.